Surprise Party!

This weekend was my mother's big milestone: her 50th birthday! Before graduation in May she told me she wanted me to help her plan a little party to celebrate. Now you must understand, my mother is quite the social butterfly but she rarely asks to do things like this. I told her of course I would help her but in the back of my mind I had other plans....throwing her a surprise party would not only satisfy her wish of a party, but would also be something special she could remember forever. So I made a deal with my mom: Let me plan your birthday, I'll tell you all the necessary dates and whatnot, but leave the details to me. Of course everything I told her was a lie (the date, the location, the amount of guests and so on), but having her think she knew what was going on was a crucial element to the surprise factor!

This is what she thought was happening:
The party would be June 23rd.
It would be held at the Mediterranean Kitchen in Bellevue.
25 people would be attending.

This is what ACTUALLY happened:
The party was June 16th.
It was catered by the Mediterranean Kitchen [one of her favorite restaurants on the eastside].
Nearly 50 people attended... and that's just the basics!

Here are the details:
The party was at a family friends house in Sammamish. Guests started arriving at 6:00pm and were asked to park at the church around the corner. Instead of an "Over the Hill" themed party, it was "Fabulous at 50". A much more agreeable theme and one that suits my mom quite well. I had told my dad (who had just flown in from LA that afternoon) that I was at my friends house and was "too intoxicated to drive to dinner",  so they had to pick me up. And, of course, my dad was in on this whole thing. He called me at 6:30 telling me they were on their way. This was when I gathered all the guests into the kitchen to tell them she was a few minutes away and what would happen when she finally arrived. 

When the doorbell rang 5 minutes later, everyone held their breath as my friend's mom opened the door:

Susan: "Hi, how are you?"
Mom: "Good, good. I hear my daughter is a little drunk."
Susan: "Oh yeah... would you guys like to come in for a drink?"
Mom: [turning to my dad] "Um..."
Dad: "Sure!"
Mom: "Sure? Sure! Okay! Honey, will you go get my purse? I left it in the car."
[Dad goes to get purse]
Mom: "Wow this is great, he never wants to come in for drinks!"
Susan: [laughs] 


At this point, I'm so anxious I'm ready to rush down the hall and get her. But I wait it out and soon she's in the house walking our way... and then I pop out in front of her and

SURPRISE!!!

The fact that this picture is blurry adds to the amount of excitement there was!

After minutes of "oh my god!"'s and rounds of excited hello's, I rushed her upstairs. I had somehow managed to get her birthday dress (which she had picked out weeks before), a handful of shoe options, makeup, and jewelry out of her closet without her noticing. Susan placed everything in the master bathroom with a glass of wine so my mom could ease her excitement and get ready. With candles lit and cards and gifts around the counter, my mom was in awe.

But in no time at all we were back downstairs to celebrate my fabulous mother turning the big 5-0.

By the time the crickets were chattering outside and the cool breeze of the early morning started to come through the open windows, it was time to go home. We boxed up the remaining food and took home the leftover bottles of wine and, though tired as we were, talked all night about how fabulous the surprise had been.

Dress & Necklace from Nordstrom. Bracelet from Tiffany's & Co. 

xx